I read a disturbing article. It wasn’t really an article, but a profiling piece by a German foundation that helps older women to find jobs. It said that women over 50 have a hard time finding jobs when they become unemployed (I think for men it is not that easy either). I have heard this before from other sources but thought it was scare-mongering. I find it hard to believe that a society can discard such a large group and valuable resource by making 50 the cut-off point for participation in working life. When I was still living there, Germany didn’t have a huge culture of volunteer work either. So what are you doing when you are over 50 there? Is it really old age? Do you really have to start preparing for retirement? S-c-a-r-y!
It slowly dawns on me there is no way I could go back to Germany, even if I wanted to. This door is firmly closed. There is, however, this other interesting research I read a while ago, and it has stuck to my mind: In old age, you revert back to your first language, as you will loose the ability to speak your second language. I think old age might become very frustrating for me. Ah well, I always can talk to my puppets!
